Corporate Strategy 2022-2027

Introduction by Wendy Walters, Chief Executive of Carmarthenshire County Council

i am pleased to present this Corporate Strategy for Carmarthenshire County Council which sets out our direction of travel and priorities as an organisation.

In developing this Strategy we have taken time to reflect and refresh our approach following discussion with a range of stakeholders including councillors, officers and external partners. We have also sought feedback from residents, staff, businesses and trade unions on their views about the Council and priorities and these views have shaped our well-being objectives.

As we emerge and reflect on our experiences from the pandemic and look ahead at the extremely challenging period ahead for public services in terms of increasing demand and budgetary constraints, we have taken a fresh approach to our Corporate Strategy and wellbeing objectives by focusing on a smaller number of population based objectives whilst identifying our thematic priorities, service priorities and core business enablers.

Our well-being objectives are focused on:

1. Enabling our children and young people to have the best possible start in life (Start Well)
2. Enabling our residents to live and age well (Live & Age Well)
3. Enabling our communities and environment to be healthy, safe and prosperous (Prosperous Communities)
4. To further modernise and develop as a resilient and efficient Council (Our Council)

At the heart of this approach is integration and collaboration across the Council and with our stakeholders, and our focus going forward will be on:

Developing Carmarthenshire Together: One Council; One Vision; One Voice

Within this Strategy we have identified a series of thematic and service priorities that are aligned to our well-being objectives. Detailed delivery plans will outline actions to be taken for each thematic and service priority with clear measures to monitor progress against the overall well-being objective.

During the course of this Strategy, we will continuously challenge the status quo, ask questions of ourselves about how we are operating and consider best practice in Wales and beyond. We will critically self-assess our performance and seek feedback from stakeholders so that we can continue to learn and improve the way that we work.

Our staff are the driving force of the Council and their commitment and determination to do their best for the people of Carmarthenshire is never doubted and something I am tremendously proud of.

As we enter another challenging period for public services, I will ensure that the Council is in the best position possible to respond to whatever that may bring. Going forward a focus on continuous service transformation is going to be critical, and I will drive this transformation within the organisation to make sure that we can adapt, be innovative and respond with the needs of our residents at the centre of all that we do despite the challenges ahead.

About the Council

Carmarthenshire County Council has just over 8,000 employees, split over five departments covering a wide range of services, with a Gross budget of £600m.

Chief Executives

• Chief Executive, Leader and Cabinet support
  
• Corporate communications
  
• Corporate policy and partnership
  
• Corporate strategy
  
• Democratic services
  
• Electoral and registration services
  
• Information technology
  
• Legal services
  
• People management and performance
  
• Performance management
  
• Regeneration and property

Education and Children Services

• Corporate Parenting and child welfare
  
• Family support
  
• Sustainable Communities for Learning
  
• Learner inclusion
  
• Safeguarding children and young people
  
• Adult community learning
  
• Early Years childcare, play and education
  
• Youth support service
  
• Fostering and adoption support services
  
• Support services for supporting learner behaviour
  
• School services – catering, music, admissions and governance
  
• School improvement and learner progress
  
• Transition arrangements and support for children and young people with complex needs
  
• Welsh in Education

Corporate Services 

• Accountancy and financial management
  
• Creditor payments
  
• Corporate procurement
  
• Internal audit
  
• Payroll control
  
• Pensions administration
  
• Revenues & Housing Benefits Services
  
• Revenue services
  
• Risk management
  
• Treasury management and pension investments

Communities

• Adult safeguarding
  
• Care and support
  
• Carmarthenshire Home standards+
  
• Cultural services
  
• Environmental protection
  
• Home care
  
• Housing repairs and maintenance
  
• Independent living
  
• Licensing
  
• Mental health and learning disability services
  
• Older people and physical disability services
  
• Outdoor recreation
  
• Public protection
  
• Sport and leisure

Place and Infrastructure

• Building control
  
• Emergency planning
  
• Environmental and planning enforcement
  
• Flood risk management
  
• Highway infrastructure management
  
• Passenger Transport
  
• Planning and conservation
  
• Property/architectural design and maintenance
  
• Public rights of way
  
• Street cleansing, litter and grounds maintenance
  
• Traffic management, road safety and car parking
  
• Waste management and recycling
• Engineering Design
• Fleet Management

Our core values

Our values underpin and guide the way that we work, the way we improve and the way we make decisions in our community.

Our core values are:

​Working as one team

We recognise that by working together and making constructive connections we can make the best use of our resources for our communities.

Act with Integrity

We will actively think about what is the right thing to do when presented with choices in a work situation.

Focus on our customers

We work to improve the lives of the people in our communities this is our focus and key purpose.

Strive for excellence

We will remain vigilant and ensure that we deliver to the best of our abilities and always explore ways to improve what we do.

Take personal responsibility

We will all consider how we support and apply these values so they actively underpin and guide the way we work.

Listen to improve

We will listen and engage with our communities, partners and all stakeholders to inform our improvement plans.

Well-being Objective 1

Enabling our children and young people to have the best possible start in life (Start Well)

Why is this important?

1. Giving every child the best start in life is crucial to reducing health inequalities across the life course. The foundations for virtually every aspect of human development – physical,intellectual and emotional – are laid in early childhood. What happens during these early years, starting in the womb, has lifelong effects on many aspects of health and well being – from obesity, heart disease and mental health,to educational achievement and economic status. To have an impact on health inequalities we need to address the social gradient in children’s access to positive early experiences. Later interventions, although important, arconsiderably less effective if they have not had good early foundations. Fair Society, Healthy Lives, the Marmot Review, 2010
2. Adverse Childhood Experiences ACE’s are stressful experiences during childhood that directly harm a child (e.g. sexual or physical abuse) or effect the environment in which they live (e.g. growing up in a house with domestic violence) that can impact throughout the course of life. For every 100 adults in Wales, 47% have suffered at least one ACE and 14% have suffered 4 or more.
3. Early language acquisition is important in the development of the child. Welsh language development in the early years can encourage feelings of belonging.
4. In March 2022, there were 165 Looked After Children in Carmarthenshire, which equates to 45 per 10,000 population compared to the Welsh average of 112.
5. 31% of children are living in poverty in Carmarthenshire (in households with less than 60% of the average income before housing costs). This is just above the Welsh average of 30.6%.
6. Carmarthenshire is the 5th worst county in Wales for levels of childhood obesity. In 2018/19, almost a third of children aged 4 to 5 were overweight or obese.
7. Compulsory education is changing in Wales and a new curriculum is being introduced that aims to provide young people with the skills they will need in the future.

A recent consultation with Carmarthenshire’s residents indicates that there is overall agreement that local schools provide children and young people with a good education.

8. Children learn through play and develop essential skills - play sufficiency is essential.
9. Attendance at a quality pre-school (aged 0-3) is shown to improve outcomes for children.
10. Making sure young people are in Education, Employment or Training reduces the effects of poverty and the wider cost to society of support services, reliance on benefits and offending.
11. Young carers are more likely to achieve poorer educational outcomes – there are 1,800 young carers in Carmarthenshire.
12. There is a net migration over the last five years in the 16-24 range.
13. Key local issues identified by the Carmarthenshire Youth Forum are:
    a) access to training and jobs with 21.3% of votes
    b) homelessness with 20.9% of votes,
    c) domestic violence with 17% of votes.
14. Concern over mental health is a key issue raised by young people.
15. Young people are also concerned with bullying and cyberbullying.
16. Research on early years investment suggests significant returns for each £1 invested.

Well-being Objective 2

Enabling our residents to live and age well (Live & Age Well)

Why is this important?

1. Poverty and deprivation have serious detrimental effects, impacting all aspects of well-being. Over a third of our households continue to live in poverty (35.6%), a level which has increased by 0.9% over the last ten years. This translates to around 29,500 households, suggesting that almost 600 additional households have slipped below the income threshold over the last ten years.
   A large proportion of respondents to a recent consultation agreed that poverty is a problem in their respective area.
2. The cost of living is rising across the UK, with more working families experiencing poverty.
3. According to the Census 2021, Carmarthenshire has an ageing population, whereby 11% of the county’s population are aged over 75 (above the national average of 9.8%). This will require the NHS and the Local Authority to plan for the expected increased demand for health and social care services.
   Health and Social Care was indicated to be the most important theme in terms of prioritisation for investment by Carmarthenshire’s residents through a recent consultation.
4. The challenge is to prevent ill health, living healthy lives allows people to fulfil their potential, meet educational aspirations and play a full part in the economy and society of Carmarthenshire, many of the preventive services and interventions lie outside health and social care.
5. Dementia prevalence is projected to significantly increase in the next 15 years.
6. Mental ill health is something that one in four adults will experience in the course of their lifetime.
   There was overall strong agreement from residents that it is important that consideration is given to supporting people’s mental health and wellbeing.
7. Homelessness, and the risk of homelessness, poses significant risk to a person’s well-being, negatively impacting on emotional, mental and physical health as well as indicating poor social and economic circumstances
8. Access to good quality, affordable homes promotes improved health and well-being, meeting the individual needs of residents, building strong sustainable communities and places where people want to live. It is also good for the economy - in order to thrive, new businesses need easy access to its workforce and quality housing will help to attract this cohort.
   There was overall strong agreement from residents that it is important that local people are supported to buy homes locally.
9. Good quality energy efficient affordable homes are good for the people and the environment – well insulated homes fitted with the latest innovative technologies not only serve to reduce carbon emissions but also promote affordable warmth for our residents.

Well-being Objective 3

Enabling our communities and environment to be healthy, safe and prosperous (Prosperous Communities)

Why is this important?

1. Providing secure and well-paid jobs for local people is crucial as increasing employability is fundamental to tackling poverty and reducing inequalities. This has a dramatic impact on our health and ability to function in everyday society.
2. Carmarthenshire has a high economic inactivity rate. This is a significant barrier to growth for Carmarthenshire, as the economically inactive represent a significant source of labour supply which is a crucial element of a well-functioning labour market. This is also concerning given that being inactive for a long period of time can negatively impact a person’s wellbeing, health and life-satisfaction.
3. A barrier to employment for many is a lack of qualifications or skills. This applies to those that have no qualifications at all and those that wish to re-skill or up-skill to better themselves and seek higher level or alternative employment. This is a pertinent issue for Carmarthenshire, as the county exhibits a higher-than-average number of people with no qualifications and a lower proportion than average of people with higher level qualifications.
4. Business birth rates in Carmarthenshire have seen a small decline in recent years when compared with regional and national averages. A stagnant start-up rate is a barrier to growth and suggests a lack of confidence and capacity within the economy. Evidence highlighted in recent work on the Innovation prospects for the county suggests that the potential entrepreneurial capacity of the county is amongst the highest in Wales. Therefore, whilst current businesses within the county need relevant support there is also a need to focus on creating an ecosystem which harnesses existing entrepreneurial flare and make Carmarthenshire an attractive place to start a business.
5. The county is characterised by micro and small sized enterprises which account for 97.2% of the total business demography. Whilst they are the very foundation of the county’s economic and cultural ecosystem their combined annual turnover is significantly less than that generated by the county’s 430 (2.8%) medium and large sized enterprises. 
   If we are to realise notable economic growth and increase productivity, there is a need to focus on supporting these businesses to upscale.
   The local economy was highlighted as the third most important theme for prioritisation for investment by respondents to a recent consultation. This included subthemes such as local business investment and town centre regeneration.
6. Access to services is a challenge in some instances owing to a lower population density and rurality. Large travel distances increase the time and cost for accessing services, which can hinder an individual’s ability to feel connected to their communities, worsen isolation and reduce feelings of local pride and belonging. This is especially pertinent for marginalised groups.
   Findings from a recent Carmarthenshire residents survey highlights that whilst there was overall agreement from respondents that they can easily access services, a large proportion disagreed.
7. Transportation & highways play a key role in supporting and sustaining our communities, it provides the vital infrastructure which connects people to one another, binds communities and enables businesses to grow and expand. A modern, successful economy is reliant upon the safe and efficient movement of people and goods and providing opportunities for people to gain access to employment, education, health, leisure and shopping. The majority of respondents either disagreed or strongly disagreed that there are good transportation links around them.
8. Areas of the county are susceptible to the negative effects of the climate emergency, especially flooding. Just over 15,000 properties (mostly residential) in the county are currently at some level of flood risk. 3,151 of these properties are at high risk. Climate change will increase the number of properties, infrastructure and key services at  risk of flooding. Places which do not currently flood will become at risk of flooding and those already known to be at risk will see the level of that risk become greater. The threats of the climate and nature emergencies were highlighted by residents as being a concern. Particular reference was made by some to the threats posed by flooding.
9. A biodiverse natural environment is good for well-being, with healthy functioning ecosystems, supporting social, economic and ecological resilience. Planning plays an integral role in order to deliver the Council’s vision.
10. To reduce carbon outputs and meet Welsh Government National targets, we must deliver our Waste Management and Recycling Strategy and meet our statutory recycling targets (70% by 2025 / 100% by 2050) and wider obligations including improvements to the quality of recyclable materials or suffer financial penalties.
11. The latest Census data for 2021 indicates that Carmarthenshire is home to 72,838 Welsh speakers which translates to 39.9% of the county’s total population. This figure has decreased by 5,210 since the last Census in 2011, which translates to a percentage point decrease of 4.0. This is the largest percentage point decrease of all local authorities in Wales. In 2001 and 2011, Carmarthenshire had the highest number of Welsh speakers of all local authorities in Wales, with 84,196 and 78,048 Welsh speakers respectively. These new figures mean that the county now has the second highest number of Welsh speakers of all local authorities in Wales and the fourth highest in terms of the percentage of the population that are able to speak Welsh. The county remains a key strategic stronghold for the future of the Welsh language and the social and economic benefits of bilingualism are widely recognised. Evidence gathered via the residents’ survey indicates that overall respondents agreed that it is important that the Welsh language is promoted and protected.
    Evidence gathered via the residents’ survey indicates that overall respondents agreed that it is important that the Welsh language is promoted and protected.
12. Carmarthenshire exhibits increasing crime rates in some areas, however the county remains among the safest areas in the UK, with Carmarthenshire ranking 13th safest out of the 22 counties in Wales with a rate of 83.6 crimes per 1,000 population.
    Overall, there was agreement that residents feel safe in their communities.

Well-being Objective 4

To further modernise and develop as a resilient and efficient Council (Our Council)

Why is this important?

1. In March 2020, we entered one of the most challenging periods ever faced by local government with the COVID-19 pandemic. Emerging from the crisis, there was a recognition that ‘things would never quite be the same’ and we would not be the same organisation that we had been. We therefore wanted to capture the learning from our response to the pandemic; what worked well/did not work so well, and how this could potentially change ‘what we do’ and ‘how we do’, it in the future. This is now an  opportunity to re-set or go back to basics in using some core principles that underpin service delivery.
   Findings from a recent staff consultation indicate that the vast majority of respondents feel proud of the way we responded as an organisation to the pandemic.
   Additionally, the majority feel ready to move forward and work in a post covid world.
   Mostly, staff agree that they were well led during the pandemic, however a lower proportion agreed that they feel valued for the contributions they made during this time.
2. We had to adapt our services quickly to continued delivery, which often required innovative and creative thinking, and a multi-team approach within the Council and with other public sector partners. Services demonstrated extreme resilience and as a result are now armed with more robust service continuity plans and a more mature approach to risk – having greater confidence and ambition in seeking ways of developing more purposeful services.
3. The benefits of having a more flexible, dynamic, empowered workforce will be important to support a transformation programme, to help us achieve our wider aims and objectives. The likelihood is that our staff recruitment challenges are likely to be with us for at least the medium term, and therefore there will need to be a greater focus on the development and retention of staff - priority of our Workforce Strategy.
   Overall respondents to the staff consultation strongly agree that they have the right skills and equipment to do their work, however a lower proportion agrees that they are encouraged to learn and develop in their role.
4. We are able to develop a more sustainable approach to meet our future workforce needs by adopting a ‘grow your own’ strategy - our ‘Future Workforce’ programme will seek to increase graduate, apprenticeship and work experience opportunities.
5. Therefore, our Transformation Programme based on what we have learnt, will design and implement a programme of internal change and transformation that will support the Council to deliver on our vision and priorities as set out within this Corporate Strategy.

Core Business Enablers

In addition to the identified thematic and service priorities, there are a range of core business enablers that will are essential to enable us to make progress against our well-being objectives.

As part of the development of the delivery plans for the thematic and service priorities consideration will also be given to the support and function required from these core business enablers.

• Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
• Marketing & Media including customer services
• Legal
• Planning
• Finance
• Procurement
• Internal Audit
• People Management (Human Resources, Learning & Development, Occupational Health)
• Democratic Services
• Policy & Performance
• Electoral Services & Civil Registration
• Estates & Asset Management
• Risk Management
• Business Support

How will we measure progress?

The Council’s Performance Management Framework sets out our approach to managing and monitoring performance against our Corporate Strategy and well-being objectives.

The specific actions and measures for how we will make progress against our Corporate Strategy and well-being objectives will be outlined within detailed delivery plans for the thematic and service priorities which will also recognise the work of the core business enablers. These delivery plans will be developed with the life cycle of this Corporate Strategy until 2027 in mind and will be reviewed and updated annually.

On-going performance management will be undertaken through quarterly performance monitoring reports to the Corporate Management Team, Cabinet and Scrutiny which will be aided with a corporate performance data suite.

An Annual Report on Council performance will be prepared in order to keep under review the extent to which:

• we are exercising our functions effectively;
• we are using our resources economically, efficiently and effectively;
• our governance is effective for securing this.

This will be developed through a self assessment approach alongside effective use of data, information and intelligence in order to inform and further develop our delivery plans and ways of working.

We will also consult and engage with a range of stakeholders on our performance including residents, businesses, Council staff, organisations and trade unions in order to inform our self-assessment.

Appendices